Spending on infrastructure and other capital projects remained unchanged, but capital expenditures picked up during the current fiscal year.

The IMF projects gross government debt for FY 2013/14 (ending March 2014) at 33 percent of GDP, with the authorities issuing T-bills and T-bonds for financial market development and liquidity management purposes.

The IMF expects Qatar's current account to record another high surplus after it recorded a surplus of 32 percent of its GDP in 2012.

This reflects sustained high prices of LNG, crude oil, and condensates exports.

IMF indicates that LNG prices in Qatar's main export markets in Asia have so far remained largely unaffected by the rapid growth in the US unconventional gas and oil production.

Qatar's marco-economic risks, baseline are mostly related to the ongoing public investment programme, the IMF said.

The investment projects are essential to propel non-hydrocarbon sector growth and facilitate economic diversification that is the country’s vision.

IMF underlined that Qatar has a policy and fiscal buffers to address short-term risks arising out of global financial market volatility.

Qatar's natural resources are sizeable and spending is unlikely to be affected by a drop in hydrocarbon prices or market volatility in the near term.

The Qatar Central Bank can inject liquidity into the financial system through its lending window and repo operations.

And the government could achieve the same goal by managing portfolio allocations of the Qatar Investment Authority and public sector enterprises, the IMF said in conclusion. (QNA)